The next leg of Make It New is already off to an interesting start. Having covered 10 albums previously, it’s still difficult to fully nail down what makes something New Wave. There have been a few overlapping themes such as high concept bands that release offbeat singles and usually have a short shelf life. Most of them, if they choose to, reunite briefly decades later for some fun gigs but never quite capture the same magic that they did in the late 70s and early 80s. With this entry on Madness, there are even more wrinkles to add. They’re far from a one hit wonder who fizzled out. Even compared to The English Beat, they have a strong cultural presence and almost triple as many significant albums to their credit. For the first, but not the last, this column has finally found an artist who doesn’t exist solely as a mythic “blink and you’ll miss it” phenomenon but something greater.
From the very mention of their name, Madness has this appeal that is undeniable. As a fan of 2-Tone Ska, there’s plenty of nonstop hits that have been in my rotation for most of my adult life. Even the mention of this album’s title “One Step Beyond…” immediately sets the song off in my head, ready to dance to that rocking horn section and walking bassline. Sure the opening credos may sound a bit novelty, but it all works as the stuff of myth. As an introduction to what they’re capable of, this is one of the best starts that I’ve heard yet. Even the artwork where they’re falling on top of each other in a “nutty train” feels iconic. They’re a party band through and through, but what I love is discovering how much of their history I straight up just didn’t know.
Without diving into a thorough history, the band was formed in 1976 as The North London Invaders. Their official name would become Madness in 1979, which paid homage to ska/reggae artist Prince Buster. This wasn’t the extent of Buster’s influence on the British sextet, as “One Step Beyond” was a cover of his classic that also featured a repurposed working of “Scorcher” during the intro. There is also the song “The Prince” which pays tribute to the artist. This song was released on 2 Tone Records, created by The Specials’ Jerry Dammer, whom Madness toured with early in their career. Along with The Selecter, they were essential to the ska revival known as 2-Tone, incorporating elements of reggae and ska into their sound with an occasional splash of surf music and, in one of the more interesting decisions, orchestral music on the Tchaikovsky cover “Swan Lake.” They were clearly setting their sights high and they were about to achieve it with their debut album.
There is something undeniable about the reverb that opens “One Step Beyond,” where Graham “Suggs” McPherson sings “Hey you, don’t watch that watch this!” There hasn’t been an intro with immediacy as cool as that. It’s like being stopped on the street, witnessing something that’s about to change your life. The reverb echoes through your soul, becoming a rallying cry that eventually fades into the song, expertly using Lee Thompson on saxophone, Mark Bedford on Bass, and Chris Foreman on the upstroke guitar. Outside of McPherson yelling “One step beyond!” occasionally, this is a straightforward musical track, but it sure is fun to dance to. Everything lines up beautifully, creating a classic that finds the band ready to take over the charts, spending a total of 214 weeks on The U.K. Singles Chart between 1980 and 1986 – tied with UB40 in longest for any British group that decade.
This album is enjoyably atmospheric with how it navigates between more conventional pop structure and instrumentals. While “My Girl” features elements that would become prominent in their Top 40 work, “Night Boat to Cairo” features a lengthy intro that features instruments cheekily using ska technique as barge horns. It sounds reminiscent of The Soft Boys with how they take their time getting to the meat of the piece, allowing for the listener to feel like they’re out at sea, listening to Madness prepare to tell them a story that will entrance. Later on in the album, “Tarzan’s Nuts” incorporates surf elements along with jungle chanting meant to be goofy. They’re really good at putting the extra effort into the music, making even the silliest moments have a musical craft that you can’t help but appreciate. As an introduction to the ska revival, it’s a tad sillier and accessible than The Specials, who were more fans of social commentary tracks.
It could just be that their album has a lot of wacky diversions track to track, but the band has gained a reputation for being silly while singing about their childhood and other comical premises. This isn’t entirely inaccurate, as songs like “Chipmunks Are Go!” exist more as entertaining skits than grander commentary. Even songs like “Mummy’s Boy” which details a man who lives with his mother well into adulthood are lyrically designed more for laughs. At most, one can argue that “Razor Blade Alley” and “Land of Hope and Glory” reflect the disparity between economic classes, where there’s danger on the streets and the singer needs to protect himself from the world around him.
As a whole album, this is quintessential 2-Tone. While I still enjoy The English Beat, there are moments where they’re not quite going for entertainment. Some of their music is about messaging, which I can respect but keeps me from loving “I Just Can’t Stop It.” With that said, the genre has largely been appreciated for how it uses political messaging in creative ways. Madness isn’t as direct, at least on “One Step Beyond…,” and that may play into why this album was much more successful. It was mostly a celebration of life. It borrowed from reggae, but did so in ways that weren’t as recognizable or distracting. Even the title song being a Prince Buster classic doesn’t strike the listener unless they have a personal connection to it. It’s an homage that works, and this whole thing makes sense as a brilliant ska record, taking slice of life moments and turning them into quality dance moments.
The question comes down to one that has been plaguing this list so far. What makes Madness new wave? Everything feels so firmly in the ska camp that, even more than The English Beat, it’s difficult to find them fitting that bill. They’re not really subverting much of anything musically. There are splashes of surf music, but otherwise, their only new wave contribution is how they have a faster pace, sometimes electric mixed in with fun piano riffs. It could be that they incorporate Prince Buster in with pop in a way that’s unprecedented. It’s hard to really nail down because they’re not as out there as Adam and the Ants nor as challenging as The Soft Boys. They’re fairly straightforward in their 2-Tone sound.
As mentioned, Madness isn’t exactly a stereotype like Bow Wow Wow either. Their sound functions perfectly within their vision. Also, whereas most bands covered so far have released under three albums before collapsing in the mid-80s, Madness released an impressive six albums before “disbanding” in 1986. It helped that they also had 15 singles reach the U.K. Top 10 and the success of “One Step Beyond…” meant that they were forced to release an E.P. Believing that they had exhausted the singles for their debut, they released an album that featured a few reissues like “Night Boat to Cairo” with new songs like “Baggy Trousers.” Better things were ahead for them and many of their biggest singles (“Our House,” “House of Fun,” “It Must Be Love”) are still featured prominently in media. If they were new wave, they remain one of the most successful examples of such.
It should be noted that the band technically did disband in 1986. Anyone who would look at the legality of that term wouldn’t be wrong. However, there was an offshoot called The Madness who believed that by putting “The” in their name that they differentiated from the main group. With that said, a prominent amount of the band featured original members and it has been argued that their self-titled album was essentially repurposed demos for an unreleased Madness album. They didn’t last long, but were one of many off-shoots for the band that included projects like The Fink Brothers, The Nutty Boys, and Crunch! None of them were obviously as big as the original group, but they do tap into more interesting corners of the band’s creativity.
While there have been many line-up changes since the release of “One Step Beyond…,” including new singer Cathal “Chas Smash” Smyth, one thing that remains interesting is the band’s post-retirement career. Like most new wave bands, there was a reunion that launched several tours, including many ongoing holiday tours in Europe. However, since their 1992 reunion, one thing that differs between them and others is the line-up. While it’s true that not every member was around for the entire run, the current group consists of members who were there for the band’s 1980s success. Given that most bands covered lost players from death, injury, or disputes, the success of Madness is way beyond impressive.
There are other things about their later career that are worth mentioning. Along with being referenced in the 2-Tone documentary Take It Or Leave It (1981), they were featured on the soundtrack for Dance Craze (1981) and helped on the project Cage Against The Machine which was created to keep the winner of The X-Factor from having The Christmas Number 1. Their relevance goes beyond entertainment, as songs like “Tomorrow’s Dream” commented on animal testing and reflected the band’s desire to be more than a gimmicky band. They genuinely cared about their platform, and it showed in their ability to endure decades of scrutiny. With that said, their music was also the subject of a stage musical in England called “Our House,” which was nominated for and won an Olivier Award. While I don't have a lot of information on it, there was also talk at one point of Madness having their own TV show which would've been produced by Richard Curtis.
There’s plenty to love about Madness and their ability to keep putting on a good show. While I have never personally seen them live, I did watch an online stream when they performed at a KROQ event called Inland Invasion in 2005 and thought they were very enjoyable. I always enjoy a band that still knows how to put on a show, and their songbook has more than enough material to fill an hour of nonstop dancing and good times.
From everyone covered so far, Madness was an example of how a band could endure the decades and come out with an impressive body of work. Even if I’m not sure what makes them new wave material, they have more than enough that makes them worth adding to the rotation. This is one of the best albums covered so far and their ability to blend contemporary styles with homages to the past is impeccable. I really enjoy where everything goes, even if they’re far from the weirdest band covered so far. For what it’s worth, simply hearing the phrase “One step beyond” is sure to get the saxophone playing in my head, making me want to move my feet as they so confidently suggest. When you come in asking your audience to “don’t watch that, watch this,” you better deliver, and thankfully they do in many, many ways.
Coming Up Next: The Knack’s “Get the Knack” (1979)
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